Tutorial Thursday: What is the difference between a pergola, a trellis & an arbor?

Although the terms often are used interchangeably, trellises, arbors and pergolas are distinctly different structures. A trellis is typically a latticework built to support climbing plants or vines. It can be a simple panel attached to the side of a building, or it can be freestanding in a garden or yard.

An arbor usually incorporates a trellis into its structure, creating a tunnel-like passageway of climbing plants. Arbor's have a continuous run of latticework from one side of the "tunnel" to the other, often in an arched shape.

Pergolas, too, are designed to support climbing plants. Unlike arbors, though, pergolas simply have posts supporting a rooflike structure. They're most commonly used to shade a walkway or deck.

By: Chip Harley, Build a Craftsman-Style Pergola, Fine Homebuilding, April/May 2006

Lessons from a Home Stager

The New York Times Magazine has a great article about staging a home today. Eventhough the article is about staging for selling purpose, there are some great tips that you can pick up for your daily life as well...

For example:

1) Start with a white sofa and go from there, as you can change the look quickly by changing the pillows.

2) Have a story, or a theme, and build from there.

3) Do and reedo until it's right.

4) Avoid matchy matchy.

5) Build characters and personality by adding pieces that reflect your lifestyles.

To read this article and watch the video, click here.



Image source: NY Times

Gorgeous Silk Flowers from New Growth Designs

When it comes to silk flowers we like them to look as real as possible--this is why you'll never find us buying them at Walmart!

The good ones are pricey, for the very simple reason that they tend to look almost like the real ones.

We found some at New Growth Designs that we just love. The orchids are nice and tall, so they look super dramatic. Some of them are over 5 feet tall. We like putting them on a console table, in front of a mirror along with some other accessories.

Check out some of our favorite ones:






We'll be posting these on our silk flowers section soon.

Really Pretty Silk Flowers from Atrium Foliage

When the weather starts to get cold and gloomy, we find ourselves craving for colors. That's when we find silk flowers an attractive option--mainly for the fact that it's almost impossible to find fresh flowers in the winter, plus we're super lazy, and silk flowers require no maintenance whatsoever...

Here are some from Atrium Foliage that we really like. Based out of Atlanta, they make the flowers to order, one arrangement at a time... We like them because they look and feel expensive (and okay, they ARE a little expensive, but worth every pennies though).









We'll be posting these on our silk flowers section in a couple of days. Please check back with us to see the complete collection.

More Modern Vintage Furniture-Haute House

We featured Haute House furniture a while back. This line is kinda wild, kinda funky. It's great when you have great imagination and you are looking for statement pieces.

When in High Point last week we saw that they had a new collection called "Histography" that we thought was kinda cool. It is also much more livable and muted than their other pieces.

Here are some samples:







To see the entire Haute House line, check out their web site here. As always, if you need help with pricing, email us.

Modern Vintage from Noir

We were just in High Point last week for the home furnishings market. The weather was gloomy and cold--so was the mood of the market. This gotta be one of the toughest year for the home furnishing industry. Everyone we talked seem to have a rough time.

But it was nice to see that manufacturers are still coming out with new and fresh introductions. The trend we notice most this year is vintage done in a modern way. Maybe it's because we like to go back to comfortable things when time is tough. Generally the trend is muted, simple and organic.

Noir Trading has a few pieces that we just love. We wrote about them before but we are featuring them again due to the fact that this is a line that keeps getting better everyday. If you love Oly Studio, take a look at this line. It's very similiar but way more affordable.

Here are a few of our faves:











If you would like to see more of Noir products, visit their web site here. If you need pricing for any of the pieces, drop us a line...

Nationally Published!

Visbeen Associates' custom home, Two Creeks, made the cover of Better Homes and Gardens' Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine. Take a look at the article, too!

Grand Rapids Design Home 2010

Take a look at the proposed design for the 2010 Grand Rapids Design Home! We're honored to have been chosen to team up with Grand Rapids Magazine, Falcon Custom Homes and Gallery Interiors to bring you this design in Manchester Hills.

In April, 2006 Wayne Visbeen participated in the Traditional Building Design Challenge. Architects from all over the country were given the same parameters and, in a live design format, hand-drew unique home designs. Wayne's design won third place! For three years we've wanted to see this project to completion and we are hoping that now is the time.

What are we missing? You, perhaps! We're still looking to bring a homeowner in on this project. If you're interested, email me at angela@visbeen.biz. We need you to make this project happen!

Great Lake Story

We're very excited to be part of Michigan BLUE Magazine's "Great Lake Story" which is currently premiering its first installment in the magazine. We're excited to see how this home comes together! Take a look at the first journal entry of our clients, Jim & Susan Buda, as they create their dream home with Visbeen Associates and David C. Bos Homes.

Southern Accents Magazine Closing Down

We have been really blue lately.

It started out a couple of months ago, when we got our September Vogue issue. What is normally 10 lbs worth of magazine, the coveted issue is bare-thread and just ...wimpy. Then when we pick up our LA Times newspaper along with our latte in the morning, it is so thin one can browse through it in five minutes.

So our blueness is even more accentuated when we heard that Southern Accents is closing. This is in addition to Gourmet, a fabulous food magazine. What is the world coming to?

One can argue that the Internet kills the newspapers and magazine industry, but to us there is nothing more pleasurable than seeing the mailbox full of new magazines. Nothing beats holding a new stack of fresh magazines with delicious pictures to look at and glossy pages to hold.

So may we ask for your support of the newspaper and magazine industry? It's not a lot of money to keep your subscription going. A subscription to Elle Decor, say, costs less than $10/year? The New York Times is more, but oh it's so worth it.

We can not live in a world without things to read, stores to visit, beautiful things to look at. Let's do our part to keep our world from being more isolated than it is.

Pictures Bridge Construction ( konstruksi jembatan )

Bridge Construction Picture

Tips on Home Earthquake Resistant ( TAHAN GEMPA )

The technology used was developed by various parties as a quick solution to build a house, usually made of simple construction with the structure of lightweight construction materials and cover a roof and walls are light. Buffer structure quickly build a simple house can be made from the framework of iron, wood, and bamboo. In principle, the draft can maintain rigidity of the structure and has the flexibility to move with the earthquake, and maintain the roof and walls of the cover in place with minimal damage.

Tips for arranging furniture and home accessories to keep them in place when the earthquake occurred (not broken or scattered everywhere): ( Rumah tahan Gempa )

1. Use the screws that can be used to attach objects such as cabinets, bookshelves and so on to the wall

2. Use the screws to put things like computer monitors, desk lamps and so forth in the table

3. Use the lock on the drawers so that when the earthquake did not come out and endanger the occupants

4. Ensure that the dependent objects, such as pendant lights, chandeliers, ceiling fans below, and so dependent and well embedded in a strong structure

5. Use safety security film or layer of glass to coat the glass windows and doors so that broken glass can be detained by this layer

Designer Spotlight

We were thrilled when Whirlpool asked to highlight Wayne Visbeen and Visbeen Associates in the Designer Spotlight section of their premier Designer Newsletter. Check it out!

Luxury Bedroom Interior Design Pictures

These are the picture examples of a house interior design bedroom section. This pictures show fascinating interior design of houses which are very good to become the models especially bedroom design. Ideas about home decorating ideas, arrangement of light and color options can be seen in these pictures.